Fastener



E. F. HGAINES June 9, 1936.

FASTENER 1 Filed NOV. 21, I954 INVENTOR fm =24, M

ATTORNEY Patented June 9, 1936 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,043.74; FASTElIER.

" Eugene F. Gaines, Merion, Pa., assignor to Flexible Fastener Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware f Application November 21, 193 i, Serial No. 754.018

7 Claims. (01. 24-163) The object of my invention is to devise a novel construction of a fastener which although not limited to such .use is especially adapted for use with a sanitary belt.

. The fastener is flexible, resilient and unbreakable and engages the gauze end of a sanitary pad in such a way as to hold it securely while spreading the gauze and causing it to lie flat on the body and prevent chafing. a l ,Prior to my invention, sanitary pads or napkins were in most cases held in place through the use of an ordinaryelastic belt equipped with pad lugs to which the sanitary pad or napkin was attached by the use of a safety pin. Where a safety pin is used in attaching the gauze end of a sanitary napkin, the gauzeldrawstogether in the middle and takes I on a rope like formation which is most uncomfortable. Again, where a safety'pin is .used, it is impossible to secure the extreme edges of the gauze or napkin firmly, thereby allowing chafing as the position of the wearer changes. Another objection to the use of safety pins is the danger of their becoming unfastened.

i p My combination supporter and fastener which has been in practical use for a considerable time has been found to satisfy a long existing demand for a supporter which could be worn withoutdiscomfort, which held the sanitary pad or napkin ,securely in place, which, through the fastener, being flat and flexible is unnoticeable under any dress and which allows almost instantaneous changing of the pads or napkin.

In addition to the abovefmentioned outstanding features myf supporter; through the simplicity of its construction, can be manufactured at an exceedingly low cost. h l

There is an oblique pull on the fabric as it is engaged'by the teeth which causes the fabric to spread.- outwardly while firmly binding the outside edges of said fabric in such a manner asto prevejntany change in the position of said fabric and thus preventing such from chafing the wearer thereof. b A further object of the invention is to devise a novel-"fastener or clasp wherein the body portion is fiexible and. preferably resilient'and provided with an openinghaving intermediate its ends a novel construction and arrangementof teeth which provide for grippingthefabric at the sides and wedging it outwardly without imparting strain to the central portion sothat the fabric willnot assume a rope like or bunched forma- 5 tion which might chafe the wearer;

With the above and other objects in viewas my invention is employed.

. tached position.

will hereinafter appear, my invention compre hends a novel fastener.

It further comprehends a novel fastener having a flexible body portion provided with an opening and with teeth at the sides which extend g inwardly. and upwardly, while the central space between the teeth at opposite sides is open so that there will be a straight pull on the fabric engaging the teeth and thefabric grasped will not bunch up, move toward the center, or assume 1 a rope like'formation when there is a pull on the fastener. I H

Itrfurther comprehends a novel fastener having its body portion of vulcanized layers of rubber and fabric and novel gr pping means secured 15 to the body portion.

Other novel features of construction andadvantage will hereinafter more clearly appear in the detailed description and the appended claims. 1 V .20

For the purpose of illustrating the invention I have shown in the accompanying drawing typical embodiments of it, which, in practice, will give satisfactory and reliable results. It is however, to be understood that the various instru- 2 mentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized, and my invention is not limited to the exact arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities', as herein set forth.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a sanitary beltyin conjunction with which a fastener embodying Figure2 is a plan view of the fastenen inide- Figure 3 is an end elevation of the fastener showing the fabric gripped thereby.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the construction seen in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view of another embodiment :of my invention wherein the gripping bar is vulcanized to the body portion instead of being clipped thereto as in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive.

. Figure 6 is .a detail showing more particularly the manner in which the fabric is held .by the .fastener.

Figure 7 is .a plan view of another form of fastener embodying my invention and wherein the transverse gripping means is; at the side portions andsecured to a transverse bar of the body portion. Figure 8 is a sectional view of the body portion the section being on an enlarged scale and taken on line 8-8 of Figure 2. Similar numerals indicate corresponding parts.

from one side wall to the other.

Referring to the drawing:

The sanitary belt seen in Figure 1 is formed of two similar strips of elastic webbing I and 2, respectively, one end of each strip is cut on a bias as at 3 and secured to the adjacent strip by stitching or a seam as I, while the strips are in the same horizontal plane. The free ends are folded around a fastener 5, embodying my invention, and secured to the main portions of the strips by stitching 6.

The fastener 5 has a body portion constructed of two inner layers of fabric and two outer layers 'of rubber vulcanized together and provided with a central opening I. The body portion may have any desired outer contour and the size and shape of the opening may vary widely in practice.

I have preferred to show the fastener as having its body portion substantially rectangular with rounded corners, and of substantially uniform width at its top, bottom and side walls. 8 designates a gripping member in the'form of a bar or strip preferably of metal which has its free ends clipped around the side walls of the" body portion; as at 9. The gripping member in proximity to the sides of the body portion has inwardly and upwardly extending teeth I0 which terminate above the inner inwardly and upwardly inclined teeth I I. The gripping member is cut away between the teeth II to form a central space I2 with its bottom wall curved and its side walls formed by the teeth I I. I3 designates a sanitary napkin or other article to be held by the fastener. The sides of the article I3 at its free end is folded over as shown in Figure 4 and the free end inserted through the upper opening of the body 'portion' over the gripping means, drawn downwardly and inserted through thelower opening of the body portion. It will be seen that the extreme outer edges of the fabric are firstengaged by teeth I 0 and then by teeth II which action forces the fabric outwardly towards the side walls of the body portion in such a way that the fabric is held firmly in position and thus prevents any chafing action, while the central portion of the fabric is not engaged by any teeth. This causes, as seen in Figures 5 and 6, the end of the fabric to be substantially flat under a pulling strain on the fastener, and the end of the article will not bunch up or. work together to form a ropelike formation or formations which would chafe or be uncomfortable to" the user.

7 V Inthe embodiment seen in Figure 5 the gripping means instead of being clipped to the side walls of the body portion, has its free ends vulcanized within the side walls as at I4. In

other respects thisform of my invention is the same at that shown in Figure 2.

V In the embodiment seen in Figure 7, the gripping means do not extend completely across The side walls are connected by a strip of fabric and rubber I5 and two sets of gripping members I6 are employed. Each set' is clipped to the adjacent side wall as at IT and to the strip as at I8. The outer and inner teeth I9 and 20, respectively, have the same formation and arrangement as the teeth II] and II respectively, and the fastener operates in substantially the same manner as that shown in the other figures of the drawing.

It will be apparent that, in all of the embodiments of my invention herein illustrated, when the top and bottom portions of the body portion are bent towards each other, the engagement of the teeth with the articles will be released.

As the belt is disclosed in a copending application, and as the fastener may be employed with any desired or conventional type of belt, the belt per se is not claimed in this application.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a new and useful fastener which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described preferred embodiments thereof which will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that this embodiment is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A fastener having a flexible and resilient body portion provided with an opening, and gripping means within and secured to said'body portion and having outer teeth extending inwardly and'upwardly, inner teeth extending inwardly and upwardly and terminating below the free ends of the outer teeth and having a space beq walls of the body portion, with the central portion between the teeth open and unobstructed to form a space to receive the article gripped by the fastener. -3. A fastener having a body portion' of reenforced rubber with an opening, 'and a gripping member traversing said opening between its top and bottom and having teeth. within the opening between the gripping number and the top extending inwardly and upwardly from the sides of the body portion to cause the fabric gripped to spread outwardly towards said side walls and said gripping member having the wall presented to the opening between the bottom and the gripping member smooth and unobstructed.

4. In a fastener, a body portion of vulcanized layers of fabric and rubber and having an opening, and a metallic strip fixedto the side walls of said body portion and having gripping means extending from opposite sides towards the center of, the opening to spread the article being gripped towards the side walls without placing a strain on the central portion of the article.

5. In a fastener, a body portion of vulcanized layers of fabric and rubber and having an opening, and metallic strips fixed to the side walls of said body portion and having gripping means to spread the article being gripped towards the side walls without placing a strain on the central portion of the article.- I

6. In a fastener, a body portion having an opening and flexible and resilient side walls. a gripping member extending across the opening and connected with the side walls and having teeth at its upper edge to grip the article to be fastened, the engagement of said teeth with the article being released by bending the top and bottom of the body portion towards each other.

7. In a fastener, a body portion formed of material having flexible and resilient walls defining a central opening, and a gripping member in the form of a single strip of material different from the material of the body portion traversing said opening intermediate the top and bottom of said body portion to form an opening on each side of the gripping member to receive the article gripped and having its free ends fixed to the body portion to contribute to maintain formation of 5 the body portion, said gripping member having teeth at its upper edge only to grip the article.

EUGENE F. GAINES. 

